Joe Radosevich

I led a breakout session on prayer at a church planting event a few years ago. Each of us gave a short explanation of our topic. After I shared why someone would want to come to a session on prayer, the church planter after me said, “I will show how you can grow your church without praying more or preaching better. I will show you a system that I used to grow my church.” Two people came to my session after that. I overheard one church planter tell an intern from his church, “I don’t need to learn to pray. I need to learn that system.” That same planter came to a meeting a couple of years later … [Read more...] about What No One Tells You in Church Planting: Part 3

“How do you rebuild your church’s reputation in the community?” Steve, a pastor in Kentucky, emailed me after my last post. Like me, he had to adjust from church planting where the pastor builds the reputation to leading a church whose reputation is already built. Here is what I told him: I've been here for 5 years in June. Much of what you described for your church is true here. I've actually apologized to some people for how our church treated them. I haven't seen the massive shift in how our community sees us that I hoped to see yet, but we are trying to do consistent, faithful basics … [Read more...] about How Do You Rebuild the Reputation of Your Church in the Community?

“The churches are emptying, and the pastors have no idea what to do about it,” my friend told me. This was 20 years ago. I had asked my friend from the deep South what things were like. I spent my high school years in Georgia and had moved to the other parts of the South for college and seminary. I was curious what was happening in the churches. She was the first person that mentioned to me that there was a problem. Dr. Terry started a discussion a few weeks ago about churches closing. Churches declining and closing is not a new problem. I’ve been thinking about four more possible reasons … [Read more...] about Four More Reasons SBC Churches are Dying

Artificial Intelligence press, hype, and doom is everywhere. I can’t look at the news without hearing about AI. I’ve written elsewhere about what I can do as a pastor that AI can’t do. Today, I wanted to argue why I think SBC Voices matters in the age of AI. First, In an age of general thoughts and predictions, SBC Voices matters because the posts here are the particular thoughts of specific people. AI can only do general or predictive work. We live in specific places, though. We pastor specific churches, not the idealized or general.  Early fighter jets were made for the average pilot, … [Read more...] about Why SBC Voices Matters in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

I started this series after a conversation with a friend whose church was supporting a new church plant. I shared some advice that I hadn’t heard when I was planting but wished I had.  The first time I talked with a church planter, I told him I was thinking about planting a church. His main advice was about money. He told me to buy Randy Alcorn’s The Treasure Principle for everyone in the core team and then gather them together and ask them to put their treasure into the church. He advised not being afraid to ask everyone, including broke college students. I now think his advice is wrong … [Read more...] about What No One Tells You in Church Planting: Part Two

You are planting a church in a broken world. Here is what you face that no one talks about: First, churches will sin against you. Every church planter I know had the rug pulled out from under them by their sending church or a nearby church. Another planter will recruit from your core team or pastors will talk about you behind your back. After a disappointing start, supporting churches aren’t so supportive anymore. Every planter has stories of being let down by those that should have helped. If you have problems with your sending church, then you are normal. If you don’t have problems … [Read more...] about What No One Tells You in Church Planting: Part One

At the Illinois Baptist annual meeting in November, two people mentioned that I write for SBC Voices. Both said that SBC Voices comment section isn't what it once was. Controversies in the past provoked comments and discussion. I imagine a lot that kind of back and forth is on social media. There are still controversies. I don't miss reading comment threads about them and won't try to make them come back here. I'm curious, though, for some discussion about what we as Southern Baptists (Great Commission Baptists if you prefer) are praying for and working for. What are you praying … [Read more...] about What Are We Praying and Working for in 2026

With New Year’s around the corner, you might be making plans for your health in 2026. I was a certified personal trainer for several years and have stayed interested in health and fitness. Here are three tips you are likely not aware of. Take your unique job and lifestyle into account when trying to be healthy. Paul wrote about that in 2 Corinthians 11:28, “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” Stress is higher in ministry, and that makes a pastor’s health and fitness different. Allostatic load is a term that means the cumulative stress from … [Read more...] about 3 Health Tips for Church Leaders

Most of the people reading this are pastors and church leaders. Most of us are readers. Our lives have been changed by books. We can't give away our favorite books, though. Many people won't read them because they are long. Today, I want to describe some great short books that you might give away. I’ve found that most people will read a book if it is relevant, excellent, and short. I think a short book should be under 100 pages. Maybe someday people will read longer books, but the point isn’t the length. The reason we give books is that we want to help people grow in Christ. Here are … [Read more...] about Great Short Books to Give Away

I didn’t tell my wife about the problems in my first senior pastorate. I wanted to protect her from worry.  I was deceived into the position. I was mistreated and deceived throughout my pastorate. I was scared, hurt, and angry. I didn’t want her scared, hurt, or angry too, so I buried it. That was the advice I had heard in ministry: protect your wife by not taking your problems home. I thought I could outwork the problems. When I couldn’t hide the problems anymore and told her everything that I had faced for three years, she struggled to trust me. She wondered what else I had hidden from … [Read more...] about The Worst Ministry Advice I Ever Received